Sports
05.02.2023
Konstantin Belov
Russian sport is cutting a window to Asia!
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The RFU (Russian Football Union) at the end of 2022 could make the most serious and important decision in its history. Russian football could move to AFC (Asian Football Confederation). Then the Russian national team would not play against France, Austria or Denmark, but against Uzbekistan, China or India.
Honorary President of the RFU Vyacheslav Kolosov said that most members of the RFU executive committee are inclined to move to Asia.
There were a lot of concerns. Most members of the executive committee are inclined to move to Asia. But there are several unclear issues, so we decided to postpone the final decision until the next meeting of the RFU executive committee,
Koloskov said in a conversation with Sport-Express.
But the RFU President Alexander Dyukov decided to create a working group on the possible transition of Russia to the AFC. Therefore, the main decision was postponed until March.
And what about other sports?
Chess has already moved to Asia!
In April 2022, the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation unanimously decided to move from Europe to Asia. The European Chess Federation has taken a radical position and allowed Russian chess players to perform only if they refuse the flag, anthem and Chess Federation of Russia. As a result, this forced our federation to consider the option of moving from Europe to Asia. But it should be borne in mind that chess is developing rapidly in Asia, there are more grandmasters there. In Europe, Russian chess players had no competition in their youth.
Here is how the senior coach of the Russian youth national team Mikhail Kobalin commented on the transition from Europe to Asia for the "Championship.com":
But the RFU President Alexander Dyukov decided to create a working group on the possible transition of Russia to the AFC. Therefore, the main decision was postponed until March.
And what about other sports?
Chess has already moved to Asia!
In April 2022, the Supervisory Board of the Russian Chess Federation unanimously decided to move from Europe to Asia. The European Chess Federation has taken a radical position and allowed Russian chess players to perform only if they refuse the flag, anthem and Chess Federation of Russia. As a result, this forced our federation to consider the option of moving from Europe to Asia. But it should be borne in mind that chess is developing rapidly in Asia, there are more grandmasters there. In Europe, Russian chess players had no competition in their youth.
Here is how the senior coach of the Russian youth national team Mikhail Kobalin commented on the transition from Europe to Asia for the "Championship.com":
From the point of view of children's chess, the transition to Asia is simply necessary for us, since it is possible to develop only in competition. The same is true about adult chess. The Chinese national teams are the winners of the Chess Olympiad among both men and women. There is a colossal rise in chess in India.
So Russia's transition from Europe to Asia in chess can be considered successful, because now the level of our athletes will increase due to high competition.
Swimmers rush to Asia
At the end of the summer, the synchronized swimming, diving and swimming federations began to think about the transition of Russian swimming to Asia.
In early December, the All-Russian Swimming Federation told MATCH TV that it had made an appeal on the possibility of Russians participating in water sports at Asian tournaments: "We made an appeal on the possible performance of our athletes in all water sports at Asian tournaments. This appeal has been sent to the Asian Federation. Actually, we have already voiced this when we talked about the possibility of performing in Asia, but so far this request really concerns the performance at Asian tournaments, not the transition."
It's too early to talk about the transition, but our swimmers are already invited to the Asian Games in 2023. This may help Russia to move to a new confederation faster in the future and start qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Asian Games 2023
The Olympic Council of Asia has issued an invitation to Russia and Belarus to take part in the XIX Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, next autumn.
The first comments from the Russian sports federations have already appeared — athletes, of course, for participation, as well as wrestlers, swimmers "will consider the offer", and volleyball players "will consult with international organizations". The main thing is said figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova:
Swimmers rush to Asia
At the end of the summer, the synchronized swimming, diving and swimming federations began to think about the transition of Russian swimming to Asia.
In early December, the All-Russian Swimming Federation told MATCH TV that it had made an appeal on the possibility of Russians participating in water sports at Asian tournaments: "We made an appeal on the possible performance of our athletes in all water sports at Asian tournaments. This appeal has been sent to the Asian Federation. Actually, we have already voiced this when we talked about the possibility of performing in Asia, but so far this request really concerns the performance at Asian tournaments, not the transition."
It's too early to talk about the transition, but our swimmers are already invited to the Asian Games in 2023. This may help Russia to move to a new confederation faster in the future and start qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Asian Games 2023
The Olympic Council of Asia has issued an invitation to Russia and Belarus to take part in the XIX Asian Games, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, next autumn.
The first comments from the Russian sports federations have already appeared — athletes, of course, for participation, as well as wrestlers, swimmers "will consider the offer", and volleyball players "will consult with international organizations". The main thing is said figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova:
This is a great opportunity to get competitive practice. For us, the practice of competitions is important now. I'm sure we should accept this invitation. We are not invited somewhere every day. We are not invited anywhere at all,
the Honored Coach of Russia said.
If Russia is invited by the organizers themselves to participate in a big sporting event, where a quarter of the world and two of the three best teams of the last Olympics are represented, this is a great sign.
Who doesn't move to Asia?
The situation with hockey is completely different. There are no European, Asian or North American championships. The World Cup is held there every year. And there are no separate championships at the club level. There is the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League). But due to the well-known events in February of this year, three non-Russian clubs remained in the KHL (Kunlun Red Star — China, Barys — Kazakhstan and Dynamo Minsk — Belarus). So Russian hockey has no plans to move to Asia.
Tennis also has no plans to go to Asia. Medvedev, Rublev, Kasatkina and other Russian tennis players continue to perform on the international stage and occupy high places in the world ranking. Medvedev even took first place in the world ranking last year.
But if we make a global conclusion, then now the entire Russian sport is ready to take an important step for its future – to move to Asia. And the most important thing is that practically no one will interfere with us. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has supported the idea of admitting Russian athletes to the qualifying competitions for the 2024 Olympics, which will be held by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
We have to wait for the RFU's decision in March, because football is the number one sport in Russia in terms of costs. And the rest of the sport will follow him.
If Russia is invited by the organizers themselves to participate in a big sporting event, where a quarter of the world and two of the three best teams of the last Olympics are represented, this is a great sign.
Who doesn't move to Asia?
The situation with hockey is completely different. There are no European, Asian or North American championships. The World Cup is held there every year. And there are no separate championships at the club level. There is the KHL (Kontinental Hockey League). But due to the well-known events in February of this year, three non-Russian clubs remained in the KHL (Kunlun Red Star — China, Barys — Kazakhstan and Dynamo Minsk — Belarus). So Russian hockey has no plans to move to Asia.
Tennis also has no plans to go to Asia. Medvedev, Rublev, Kasatkina and other Russian tennis players continue to perform on the international stage and occupy high places in the world ranking. Medvedev even took first place in the world ranking last year.
But if we make a global conclusion, then now the entire Russian sport is ready to take an important step for its future – to move to Asia. And the most important thing is that practically no one will interfere with us. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has supported the idea of admitting Russian athletes to the qualifying competitions for the 2024 Olympics, which will be held by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
We have to wait for the RFU's decision in March, because football is the number one sport in Russia in terms of costs. And the rest of the sport will follow him.
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